Kasumi and The Stone of Rejuvenation,
by Thunderxtw
Summary: Kasumi's clan has been slaughtered and The Stone of Rejuvenation has been stolen. Kasumi,Hayate, and Ayane embark on a journey for revenge and the retrieval of the stone. Chapter 7 is now up!
1. Kasumi and The Stone of Rejuvenation

_Hi, this is my first DOA fanfic and it mostly stars Kasumi. To be on the safe side, it doesn't follow Kasumi or the DOA storyline._

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Prologue

As a beautiful, young child, Kasumi has always heard stories of the legendary Stone of Rejuvenation, an ancient stone that had the power to heal a wounded individual 's body. One day, the famous ninja, Ryu Hayabusa, had discovered the stone inside a large, erupting volcano. He grabbed the stone from its placement on the wall and took it back to his village. With it, he would heal his clan whenever they became wounded in battle. Since then, Ryu and his clan have kept the stone in a secret hiding place, watching over it to be sure it never would fall into the wrong hands.

Ever since Kasumi heard about the stone and what it could do, she wanted nothing more than to see its power. Her father strictly warned her never to touch the stone or go near it, for there was a chance that she might break or damage it. But that was long ago. Now, Kasumi was much older and wiser. Knowing that there were others out there that wanted to use the stone for their own evil purposes, the young red haired Ninja dedicated herself to being the official protector of the stone and to ensure it would never fall into the wrong hands

**_The Present_**

Kasumi's village was under attack by swarms of mysterious ninja's. The groups split apart and swept through the place in a hurry. Whosoever got in their way was either fatally burned or stabbed. They ran from hut to hutwith their sights set on finding the Stone of Rejuvenation. Kasumi's clan tried at best to stop them, but there were far too many of them to hold off. They viciously crushed the clan with sheer ease due to their strength in numbers, and left them lying in a pool of blood.

Kasumi was aware of what they were after and pursued the attacking Ninja's to a small cavern, where they believed the Stone was hidden. It didn't take long for them to find it and retreat away from the area. A sad look was displayed on Kasumi's face as the Ninja's ran off. She had failed to guard the stone. Protector of the ancient rock, the young Ninja declared herself to being its guardian no more. There was no sense in being a guardian if one couldn't do the job right.

With the stone stolen, all hope seemed lost. Kasumi walked around the village looking on horridly at the remains of her dead clan lying on the ground in a vast pools of blood. The only survivors of the massacre, besides her, were her sister and brother, Ayane and Hayate. Hayate appeared out of a smoking hut with Ayane held tightly in his arms. The purple haired Ninja looked to be fine even though she had minor cuts and bruises upon her delicate face. Kasumi rushed over to check their condition.

"Are you two ok?"

"Yes, Kasumi, we are both fine," Hayate answered. "Ayane here just needs a little bit of rest."

Hayate stumbled over to a large pile of leafs and placed Ayane on top of them.

"Are you going to be ok?" asked Kasumi.

Hayate looked over at Kasumi and nodded his head confidently

"Yes, I will be fine, but those fools who were here earlier sure wont. I am going to hunt down every last one of them until they're all dead. I wont show any mercy for any of them!" he said in a determined tone.

"Yes I will hunt them with you!"

"No! Kasumi, you stay here and protect Ayane. I will go alone myself and take care of the matter."

"But Hayate you cant go by yourself. They are bound to have some type of trap waiting for you. It would be better to let me go along with you. That way we can watch each other's backs."

"No, it is too risky! You must stay here and look after Ayane!" Hayate demanded.

The male ninja did not wish to see Kasumi hurt. If she were to go along with him there might be a chance she could end up dead. He believed those Ninja's were heavily skilled, and having Kasumi tag along might be a fatal mistake.

"Hayate please! Let me come with you. Together we can get that stone back."

"No Kasumi! I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you. I'm going alone and that's final!"

Kasumi threw her arms down in defeat and pouted. There was nothing more she could do convince him. His mind had been made up. It was best to just stay in the village and do as he asked.

"Ok, but at least promise me you'll come back alive!"

Hayate walked over to Kasumi and wrapped his arms around her.

"I will come back alive, I promise." He said.

After hugging Kasumi, he quickly dashed off into the forest.


	2. The Hunt Begins

_Hey, I'm back with the 2nd chapter. Please R&R and enjoy._

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Kasumi sat down next to her sleeping sister in the bed of leafs Hayate had laid her in. With the male Ninja gone to take revenge upon what has befallen his clan, there was nothing she could do but do as her sister and sleep. The sun was getting ready to set and darkness soon approached to cover the sky in its blackness. Slowly, Kasumi's gentle eyes began to close and within minutes she fell asleep right next to an extremely loud snoring Ayane. Hours passed quickly, and before long the sun's vibrant bright rays shined down on the two sleeping Ninja's faces. 

The warm heat from the beams had awakened Ayane up from what happened to be quite a peaceful nap. Standing up from the bed of leafs, she yawned and could feel her strength that had left her since the attack returning. Feeling fully energized, this was a fairly happy moment for Ayane. Now, she was able to fight again. The first thing that came to the young Ninja's mind was getting revenge for her fallen clan.

As she started to walk off towards the direction Hayate had run off to, something pulled at her leg. Looking down, Ayane saw the very person she hated…Kasumi. For years the purple haired Ninja developed a strong grudge towards her sister, a grudge that didn't seem likely to end. She despised Kasumi in a number of ways, mainly for the affection Hayate had for her. It made the Ninja's stomach cringe to see her brother care more for somebody who didn't deserve such a thing.

Through the years, Hayate showed signs that he cared more for Kasumi than he did Ayane. The purple haired ninja thought she should be the one receiving all the love and care that Kasumi had gotten, but not much was giving to her. She really showed her feelings towards Hayate in a strong emotional way, but he always seemed to ignore and never really notice them. Looking down at her sister in sheer anger, Ayane struck Kasumi across the face with her hand after remember those painful memories, memories where the red haired Ninja was given the attention and not her. From the powerful impact Ayane's hard right fist made with her jaw, Kasumi lost balance and fell back onto the bed of leafs.

A look of sadness was displayed on the Ninja's face after she hit the ground. The sore, aching pain made her want to burst into tears and cry. But Kasumi remembered that she was a big girl, practically grown, and really had no purpose for crying. Instead, the young red head held back the saddened tears that so desperately wanted to leak out from her sensitive eyes.

"What did you do that for?" whined Kasumi.

The ninja could see the growing hatred in her sister's eyes staring back angrily. Never once did she see the purple hairedfemale smile or express any signs of happiness.

"Our entire clan is dead and all you can do is lay on your back and sleep!" screeched Ayane.

"You should be doing something useful, like getting back at those spineless dogs that annihilated our clan!"

"I would, but Hayate told me to stay here and watch over you," said Kasumi, rolling her eyes, noticing how hypocritical her sister was being.

"Fool, I don't need any one to watch over me! I can take care of myself! I'm going to go help Hayate! If you know what's good for you you'll stay behind!"

"No, Ayane, I'm coming with you!" Kasumi insisted.

"You've done enough!" Shrieked her angry sister.

Ayane spun around and dashed off after Hayate into the forest, leaving Kasumi alone in the lifeless village. She wanted to help, but every time she would make an offer to assist anyone they would turn her down and tell her to stay behind.

"I'm not going to just stay here and do nothing," she said. "I going to help whether they like it or not!

Kasumi then dashed off after her sister and brother into the forest. Her feet threaded through the tall blades of wet grass swaying from the blowing winds. Water splashed around wildly from beneath the Ninja's heels as she ran through large puddles and rivers. Soon, it was time to take a break and rest for a while. Running for several minutes had taken a toll on Kasumi's heart. She walked over to a large tree and leaned up against the bark at the bottom.

Staring off into space, the ninja saw an image of Hayate, Ayane, and herself sitting down by a large roaring fire. They were laughing and enjoying each other's company. It was only a hallucination, but a good one that Kasumi just couldn't bare to ignore. The vision she saw was what she had wanted to happen for such a long time. Her, Ayane, and Hayate were never really close, that's what Kasumi believed.

They spent more time apart than they did together. A small whizzing noise suddenlybuzzed in Kasumi's ear that brought her out of the peaceful daydream she was having. A small, shiny flickering object flew towards the red haired Ninja's head. Immediately, she rolled out of the way of its path and allowed it collide with the tree bark she was leaning up against. Rising up from the ground, Kasumi looked closely at the strange object to examine it.

It was a deadly, small, sharp object that had been thrown with the intent on killing her. The object was a shuriken: a deadly tool used by Ninjas to fling at their enemies. Seeing the instrument notified Kasumi that she wasn't alone in the forest. Two ninjas appeared from a well-camouflaged covering that hid them within the tree bark. In an alerted fashion they drew out their long glistening blades, looking to slice Kasumi's neck cleanly off her shoulders.

These Ninja's appeared to be the same as the one's that had attacked the young, red haired teenager's village. Realizing this, the look in Kasumi's eyes began to intensify. She dashed towards the two Ninjas with her sword raised, ready to stab them on contact. But before she reached them, they jumped out of the way, forcing her to stop. Up in the trees they stood, strategizing their attack pattern.

One dropped back down and immediately swung his sword at Kasumi's head. The female ninja leaned back and the tip of the blade wound up missing its target. Instead, her shiny loose hair was cut in place of her face. The other Ninja came dashing from behind, knocking Kasumi down on her stomach. They attempted to stab the young female while she was down.

Just when she thought the end was near, two flying daggers came soaring towards the ninja's from the sky. The sharp knifes pierced right through their clothing and into their beatinghearts. Kasumi rose up from the ground patting the dirt off her top, wondering how the attacking Ninja's had died.

"Who did that?" she said.

Soon, Kasumi could hear the sound of something moving around in the trees. She hastily pulled her sword back out from its hilt and positioned herself into a fighting stance, thinking it was another Ninja coming to attack her. A figure came flipping down from the trees dressed in red Ninja gear. Kasumi backed away nervously, ready to strike the mysterious stranger at any second. The ninja clad figure slowly approached Kasumi and pulled off his mask. The Ninja revealed himself to be a young girl.

_That's it for chapter two. _


	3. Identities Revealed

_Hey, I'm back with the 3rd chapter. Be sure to R&R. Hope you like this one, enjoy_

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After taking off the face covering mask, the Ninja reveled itself to be a young, brown haired, green-eyed girl. She stood her ground with her eyes meeting Kasumi's after unmasking herself. There was nothing but silence. Neither Ninja said anything to the other. Nothing but the sound of the calming wind was heard blowing past them. Kasumi cautiously backed away, holding her weapon very close, preparing to strike if the young girl was to attack.

"I am not your enemy. I mean you no harm," said the young female Ninja.

Kasumi lowered her sword and guard, looking at the stranger in confusion.

"Who are you and why are you here?" asked Kasumi.

"My name is Akemi; I am a Ninja just like you," said the young girl.

"The Ninja's I saw you fighting were in a allegiance with the Ninja's that murdered my clan."

"Your clan was murdered?" said Kasumi.

Akemi nodded her head in reply to the question.

"What a coincidence, my clan was killed by those Ninja's too!"

"Then we are after the same people," said Akemi.

Kasumi sheathed her sword and looked over at the dead corpses of the Ninja's.

"So, those daggers came from you?"

Akemi nodded her head a second time.

"Well thanks for the help, but I really have to get going. My brother and sister are out there and I have to find them.

Kasumi began to walk away and continue on her path.

"Wait!" Akemi yelled stopping her.

"Yes?" Kasumi replied.

"I could help you. Let me come with you! Since me and you are after the same people, we might as well work together.

"Good idea," said Kasumi nodding her head in agreement.

"But I'm not really after those people. I'm really just looking for my brother and sister."

Akemi joined Kasumi and dashed off.

For minutes they ran up until Kasumi became hungry. Deciding they should stop and take a break, she suggested catching some fish would be a great way to settle her growling stomach.

"I'm getting hungry. Lets stop for a while," she said.

Akemi paused and agreed. Her stomach was rumbling as well. It had been a long time since she last ate.

The two young Ninja's headed over to a small lake to try and catch some fish. Kasumi pulled her shoes off first and stepped into the lake barefooted. In a matter of seconds, she managed to catch five fishes easily. Seeing how successful Kasumi was, Akemi pulled her shoes off and attempted to catch some fish too, but unfortunately she didn't manage to catch any due to her lack of skill in catching fish. The ninja came close to catching one, but it quickly slipped from her hands and fell back into the cold, sparkling waters.

The moment the fish fell into the lake, a look of frustration quickly grew on Akemi's face. When Kasumi saw the aggravated look on the green eyed Ninja's face, she decided to come over to her aid and assist.

"Do it like this," she said, grabbing Akemi's arms from behind and showing her the appropriate way to catch fish.

"First, be patient; don't be so tense."

Kasumi held Akemi's arms still. They were so nervous and jittery; it made sense as to why she couldn't catch anything.

"Then when you see one coming don't grab it just yet, wait for it to come to you. When you feel the time is right, grab it the moment it jumps up."

Akemi tried Kasumi's strategy and managed to capture three fish.

"There you go!" Kasumi said joyfully.

"Thank you. I'm normally not good at catching fish," said Akemi, giggling.

"That's ok. All you need to do is practice."

Before it got dark, the two young Ninja's made a fire to cook the fish and eat them. Once everything was prepared, the two dug and starting eating. While Kasumi ate, she noted Akemi staring at her awkwardly.

"What?" Kasumi said.

"I never caught your name," said Akemi.

"Oh, I forgot! My names Kasumi," she giggled.

"Kasumi… that's a nice name," replied Akemi.

"Thanks."

Do you mind if I ask you a question?" said Akemi.

"What is it?" said Kasumi.

"Why is finding your sister and brother so important to you?"

A look of depression is displayed on Kasumi's face.

"Well, the reason why my clan was killed was because we held a magical stone called the Stone of Rejuvenation in our possession. It's a powerful stone that can heal the wounded. My clan hid it in a special place where they thought nobody would be able to find it, but they were wrong. The attacking Ninja's found the stone after they had killed everyone, and quickly retreated from the village. I was supposed to protect the stone and ensure nobody stole it…I failed.

My brother, Hayate, was enraged by what had happened and chased off after them. My sister, Ayane, was knocked unconscious during the attack. When she woke up, she chased after Hayate in hopes of assisting him. They left me at the village by myself. I haven't seen them since and I feel that something might have happened to them. My brother and sister mean the world to me and I don't know what I would do if anything bad were to happen to them."

Akemi showed a look of understanding towards Kasumi. Everything added up nicely to her.

"Your lucky to have a brother and sister," she replied.

"Why do you say that?" said Kasumi.

"I was born an only child. I don't have a sister or brother," Akemi said. "You sound like you really care for your brother and sister. I wont ever get to know what that feels like."

Kasumi looked at Akemi sadly and placed her hand on the side of her face, rubbing it as gently as she could.

"I know I can't be a sister to you but I know I "can" at least be a friend."

Suddenly, the saddened look in Akemi's eyes slowly began to fade away. She was happy to hear such kind words from a girl she hardly knew.

"Thank you. I appreciate that since I don't really have any friends," she said smiling.

"Don't mention it," said Kasumi.

Soon, darkness was upon them and they both felt they could use some long needed rest. Kasumi wanted to continue her search for Ayane and Hayate, but she knew she wouldn't be able to do anything while exhausted.

"We'll continue the search in the morning."

Akemi nodded, gathering herself some leafs to sleep on. When she had finally collected all the amount of leafs desired, she made them into a nice pile and lied on top of them. Looking over at Kasumi, Akemi saw her as more of sister than anything, a person she could really trust.

"Good night, Akemi!" Said Kasumi.

"Good night Kasumi," said Akemi.

_Well there you have it, chapter three. Oh I almost forgot to mention to the poster_ _SugoiByoshin. The answer is yes, Ayane still hates Kasumi._


	4. The Journey Continues

_**Here's the 4th chapter.**_

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Morning soon approached, and a sleeping Kasumi suddenly awakened after feeling the warmness of the sun's rays. Getting up, she headed over to Akemi's leaf pile to wake her up. "Good morning!" She greeted with a happy smile. There was no reply, for the green eyed Ninja was gone from the pile. It was strange. Kasumi's ears were very sensitive and could hear just about anything, even in her sleep.

Akemi must have been really quiet to just walk off and not even have Kasumi notice. Wandering about, the young red head searched the area for her missing friend. "Akemi! Where are you?" She called, worriedly. There was no answer. The only reply she had gotten were the sounds of birds chirping up in the trees.

Splashing water was heard a few feet away near the river. Kasumi walked over, peering through the bushes, and saw Akemi catching fish by the dozens. Her skills in fish catching seemed to have vastly improved. Clapping loudly, Kasumi emerged from the bushes, feeling quite impressed with Akemi's fast learning. "Wow, you sure caught a lot of them," Kasumi giggled. "Yeah, you think this is enough for breakfast?" Akemi snickered, holding up all the fish she caught. "That's more than enough," Kasumi noted.

There was nothing better then the taste of fresh fish in the morning—at least that's what the red haired ninja believed since she was so use to having it bright and early. Akemi brought the fish over in large sac and began to cook them. Kasumi and her feasted just as soon as everything had been cooked in place. Akemi appeared to be starving as she was seen shoving tons of fish down her mouth. In seconds, the pile of cooked fish got smaller and smaller, thanks to her.

Kasumi laughed as she watched her newfound staring friend eat. She had never seen somebody eat so fast before, not even a hungry animal like her sister, Ayane. "Whoa, slow down their not going anywhere," Kasumi teased. "I can't help it. My stomach's been growling all morning," Akemi said, with her mouth full of chewed up fish. Once all the food had been eaten up, the two ninja's were ready to continue on their journey.

They walked deeper into the forest, discovering a large building up ahead. "Hey, what's that?" Kasumi asked, walking closer to get a better look. "That must be their fortress," Akemi snarled. The two moved in, examining the area. A few guards were seen standing watch in the front.

Kasumi rushed over to the nearest wall for cover, to avoid being spotted. Akemi did the same and followed suite. The courtyard was massive, crawling with dozens of guards standing by on duty. These soldiers didn't seem like pushovers. If they were to spot any intruders, no doubt there would be trouble.

Kasumi and Akemi snuck inside the fortress through a small door that lead to the first floor of the building. Once inside the two ninjas put their backs to the wall and went up the stairs. Kasumi heard yelling further up the steps. When they reached the second floor, the yelling got even louder. It seemed to be coming from one of the rooms.

Stepping closer to check it out, Kasumi peeked into the room with her back still against the wall, and saw groups of Ninjas practicing their skills in a large room. It appeared to be some type of training section they were going through as they followed each other's movements. Akemi tugged at Kasumi's collar, grabbing her attention away from the room. They both head up to the 3rd floor trying hard not to make any noise. At the top of the steps, Kasumi could see another room coming up.

Once at the top, she bended over and pressed her ear to the wall, listening to the conversation going on inside. "At last, I finally have the Stone of Rejuvenation in my possession! Now, with its power, I will be unstoppable!" laughed a deep voiced old male." "What shall we do about the two intruders we captured, master?" said another voice." Keep them alive until tomorrow, suggested the deep voiced male, I'll give them the privilege of seeing just how powerful their precious stone really is. They don't understand what power truly is and I am merely going to show them a sample of it. This stone can do much more than what they know. If they had studied their information on the stone a little more, they would have known that not only does it have the power to heal, but it also contains the power to restore youth!"

Kasumi's heart skipped a beat, unaware of the stones true potential. She had no idea it possessed that kind of power the old man had just spoke of. The stone wasn't just an ancient rock for healing. It could also make the elderly young again. Whoever the man was it was clear to Kasumi that he had the Stone of Rejuvenation in his clutches and he seemed to be fully aware of what the stone was actually capable of.

She could feel the warm glow of the stone's power touching her skin frominside the room. "How am I going to get that stone back?" she wondered. The conversation ended shortly after Kasumi began trying to formulate a plan on how to retrieve the stone. As the ninja pondered, loud footsteps exiting the room filled her ears. "Someone's coming," whispered Akemi.

Hurriedly, the two Ninjas jumped up and clung to the wooden ceiling like spiders before they were spotted. Out of the room walked a tall, brash, elderly man dressed in black armor with the Stone of Rejuvenation held tightly in his grip. Kasumi gasped in shock after seeing the stone in the elderly man's hands. There had to be a way to get it back, but how? The old man walked straight past them and down the hall to the stairs.

Being thankful they were not spotted, the two girls sighed heavily in relief. But they didn't realize they had been tricked. The elderly man turned around with a devilish smile on his face. He knew they had been there the whole time. Quickly, he chucked two knifes up at the ceiling which forced the two ninjas to come down and do battle.

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_Looks like Kasumi and Akemi's cover has been blown. What are they going to do now? Be sure to Read and Review to find out!"_


	5. Change

**Author's notes_:I have decided to revive this story. I was just going to let it die, but then I recieved some requests to continue it. I also noticed one person seemed to be fairly interested in what happens next. That brings joy to my heart, knowing someone is anticipating my next chapter. I revamped some of the chapters, so be sure to take a look at those before reading this one._**

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Kasumi and Akemi hurriedly prepared themselves for battle after being discovered. As they drew out their weapons, the elderly man immediately called his ninja minions up to the top floor of the fortress. Looking at Kasumi's face, the elderly man quickly recognized the young red haired Ninja. "Ah, so your still alive after all this time. I thought my underlings would have taken care of you by now," chuckled the elderly man.

"Well, they failed," snapped Kasumi, clinching her teeth. "I'm impressed that you managed to survive the attack I had brilliantly orchestrated on your clan. To be truthful, I didn't think you'd survive at all. "So, you're the one responsible for my clans death!" shrieked Kasumi.

"Yes child I am," stated the elderly man rubbing the stone gently with his hand. "This stone here doesn't belong in the hands of those who do not know how to utilize its great power. Your clan simply did not know how to use the stones abilities; therefore, it should be in the hands of one that truly understands its magic."

"Such power doesn't belong in the hands of evil, such as yours. I can already tell you plan to do something horribly wrong with that stones power!" responded Kasumi. A wide wicked grin slowly grew upon the elderly mans wrinkled face. "Indeed. I plan to restore my youth and rule this world as an immortal. The entire world will be bowing at my feet and there's not a thing you can do to stop me, little girl."

"I wont let you get away with this!" Kasumi shouted, hoisting her sword up in sheer anger. Now everything was clear. The old man was behind the whole ordeal. He was the one behind the clan's murder.

Many lives were taken just for an ancient rock. It seemed so selfish. Kasumi took a step back, preparing to charge at the elderly man with all her might. Before her feet left the ground, Akemi swiftly kicked her in the abdomen. This action caused Kasumi to curl over in pain and drop her sword, placing her arms tightly around the stomach area.

This was a shocking turn of events. "Akemi…what are…you doing?" she said struggling to speak. "Ha foolish child," the elderly man snickered. "Akemi has been deceiving you the whole time. She is really one of my ninjas."

Kasumi raised her head up in disbelief. What the old man had said could not be true. "No! It can't be! "Akemi why, why associate yourself with this monster?" The green-eyed Ninja looked back at Kasumi with a blank stare.

"This man is Isamu; he is my father," stated Akemi, "Well, he's not my actual father, but he raised me and took care of me just like one. My parents had abandoned me when I was a baby. Isamu found me and adopted me as his child. He raised me, trained me into the warrior I am today. I am very grateful for what he has done for me.

I would do anything he asked me to do. I was sent to your village to see if they were any surviving members of your clan left. If there were any left still alive, my job was to simply kill them. When I got to your village, all your clan members were presumed dead. After I finished my investigation, I could hear the sounds of someone screaming, that someone was you.

From what I have heard, you are one of the top ninja's in the clan and you would be one of the most difficult to kill. I decided to take on an identity, an identity as an infuriated ninja out for revenge. I knew by helping you I would easily be able to earn your trust. The moment you would let your guard down would be the moment I would strike and end your life with one painful stab to the heart."

Tears slowly began to trickle down Kasumi's cheeks from her eyes after hearing Akemi admit everything. Knowing the female ninja had been assisting the enemy the whole time crushed her from the inside. She did not want to believe a word of what Akemi had said, but it was true, it was all true. "I can't believe this. After everything we been through you go and do this to me," said Kasumi, wiping the tears from her moistened eyes.

"But wait a minute, something doesn't quite add up. If you were sent to kill me in the first place…why haven't you killed me already?" You had many opportunities and you never attempted to kill me once. Akemi paused and went silent, not saying anything. It was a good question, a question she did not want to answer.

But an impatient Kasumi demanded an explanation. "Answer me!" she screamed. "Enough! Akemi doesn't need to answer your silly questions," bellowed Isamu. "Since I am in a good mood today, I shall spare your life for now and let you witness the beginning of a new era…..my era! Once I have regained my youth, you will be executed immediately." After finishing up his last sentence, Isamu struck Kasumi in the head with the side of his boot and knocked her out.

"Kenji!" he called. "Escort our guest here downstairs and lock her up with the others!" A tall, brawny, hairless man appeared from the shadows, doing as his master commanded. He picked Kasumi up from around the waist and threw her over the top of his shoulder. He carried the young female down to the lower level of the fortress and locked her up in a cage.


	6. Caged

**Some replies to the reviewers**

**The Don : **I'd be extremly happy if you up-dated this story by the end off the week...AND make it better. Your other choice is to RE-DO THE WHOLE THING!

"I grow tired of this!"  
Anakin Skywalker-Epi.I the game.

**Thunder's reply:** Well, I got the chapter done. Hope you like it.

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**† Rayne †: **You continue the suspense building...  
That's good, you know how to do your action... gotta give it to ya.  
Most people would think a couple of guys like us can't write.  
I'm hopin' to get my self enough free time to put something up here... It'll probably be a different alias than † Rayne † though...  
Maybe after I do that we can compare notes. 

_**Thunder's reply**_: Thank you so much, friend, for the kind words. I would be interesting to seeing what you could come up with. If you wanna share anything just send an email to Thunderxtw2000yahoo .com

Kasumi awakened at a sluggish pace on the floor of her prison cell. Across from the young female lied her two siblings, Ayane and Hayate. Both appeared to be unconscious as neither of them moved or had their eyes opened. It seemed Isamu's men must have found and ambushed them in an effort to ensure they didn't interfere with his plans. Rather than worry about how to escape from the confined prison, Kasumi continued to instead weep over Akemi's treachery. She saw the green eyed Ninja as a likeable friend and pretend sister, but in reality she was just a foe looking to deceive her.

Experiencing betrayal was really hard on her. Kasumi hardly knew the girl, but thought she could at least be trusted. No more was she going to be so easily trustful of strangers. A harsh lesson was now learned and taken into the uttermost consideration. "I won't fall for her tricks again. So help me, if I ever escape from this place she's going to pay," Kasumi said in a determined tone. In the corner of the cage, Hayate yawned loudly, finally awakening from unconsciousness, stretching his long masculine arms out into the air.

Once on his feet, he took notice of his sister. "Kasumi?" he said, rubbing his eyes. "Hayate!" the young female happily screamed. The two quickly embraced with a hug, revealing they were glad to see each other safe and unharmed. "It's good to see you're alright, but you shouldn't have come here," the male ninja said to his sister.

"Hayate, I couldn't stay in the village alone. Ayane left me there, expecting me to stay behind. I came to help you," Kasumi replied.

"What you did was nearly endanger your own life and get yourself caught."

"I'm sorry, Hayate, but you know how I feel about leaving you to do things alone."

Kasumi cared deeply for her brother and wanted to help out as best as she could. Simply staying put back in the village like Hayate had told her to would not solve anything, at least to her. Numerous times she had felt Hayate was in dire need of her aiding assistance. Whether he admitted it or not, there were indeed times when he needed a hand in battle and Kasumi was always right there to try and help.

Now that they were together again, the two siblings had to find a way to break out of the cage and stop Isamu from succeeding with his current plans. A few feet in front of them, a guard stood watch with the keys to the prison door dangling from his side pocket. He seemed to be having trouble staying awake, for his eyes kept closing and opening repeatedly. Kasumi grabbed his attention with random cries that soon started to irritate him.

"Hey! Shut up over there!" he shouted.

Kasumi continued to whine, annoying the guard even more so than before. Not being able to take anymore of it, he paced over to the door of the cage angrily.

"I thought I told you to….."

Hayate sprung up from the floor, reaching his arm through the bars, and bashing the guard's head against the door, thus knocking him out. Kasumi snatched the keys and unlocked the cage door, heading towards the steps to the upper level of the fortress. Hayate saw Ayane slowly beginning to wake up over in the corner. Immediately, he grabbed her by the arm and led her out of the cage.

Dawn was soon approaching with the sun's bright rays getting ready to shine through the openings of the fortress. Isamu was in his room with the stone and Akemi standing by his side, smiling brightly. For years he had waited for this moment and the time was now upon him.

"At last, I will be young once again and the stone's power will enable me to live forever as an immortal," he said.

"Yes father, you will be able to do anything you desire," Akemi added.

Marching outside, ordering his men to the courtyard, Isamu brought the Stone of Rejuvenation along with him. Everyone gathered around to be able to witness the power of the ancient rock he held snuggly in his arms. Within the next few seconds, the stone started to glow an eerie, sickly green color. A sudden flash of light blinded the entire area. Isamu's body shriveled and cracked from the back of his neck to the bottom of his heels. He could feel his body changing and transforming rapidly.

After a brief moment, the tremendous flash of light began to die down. Akemi and Isamu's minions brought their hands away from their faces, realizing the bursting light was gone. Before them, stood a younger and more powerful Isamu. The old gray color that his hair used to be was now black, and the wrinkles in his skin and face had totally diminished. He was now young again with a much more youthful and stronger body.

"How do you feel, father?" Akemi asked, wanting to know the results of the transformation.

"I feel….I feel great!" he proudly responded. "I feel that I can take on anything now."

"Good," Akemi evilly snickered.

The young brunette kicked the stone from Isamu's arms and snatched it up right away as soon as it touched the dusty ground.

"What the? What are you doing?"

"Now that you've got your fill I'll be keeping this rock for myself. Have fun with your youth!" the girl giggled.

Akemi quickly dashed out of the courtyard and vanished with the Stone of Rejuvenation tightly in her grasp.

"Traitor!" Isamu angrily shouted.

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**Author's notes:** _**Sorry if its short. I promise the next one will be longer.**_


	7. A Race for Retrieval

**Author's notes**: My response to the reviews.

**Dan von Hinden**: Congrats to you! I am Dan von Hinden, a fairly big yet unknown reviewer, and I'm happy to say that this story is good compaired to other stories.

P.S. Tell "Bill the Bard," if he's still around, that I said he should accept any review from anyone and not just authers. And that he is the best auther.

_**Thunder's reply**_: Hello Don, nice to meet you. Thank you for your kind words. Do you think next time when you review you could give a little more description as why you like the story or chapter? I really want to know your thoughts on it.Again, I thank you for the comments

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**Illius**: An excellent read so far. I can't wait to read the next chapter. This and the other chapters have been brilliant and I do hope you write another one soon. Highly recommended, a great read. 

Illius

_**Thunder's reply**_: Hey there! Nice to see I have acquired another fan. I'm your first favorite author? Aww, shucks (blushes).Wait no longer my friend, for the next chapter is here. By the way, do you think you can give some more detail into your review because I would really like to know your thoughts on the fic. Thank you for the comments.

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**On with the story**

Akemi's long, brunette hair withdrew behind the back of her sensitive ears as she swiftly dashed through the quiet forest with the Stone of Rejuvenation held firmly underneath her armpit. Laughing maniacally while running across the steady currents of water in the shallow creeks, the cunning Ninja couldn't get the shocked expression of Isamu when she kicked the stone from his fingertips out of her head. It was hysterical, for he was totally unaware of her plan to take the rejuvenating rock from him in the first place. A massive ego Isamu had, always thinking he was one step ahead of everybody else. He didn't go as far as to think his own adopted daughter would betray and steal from him right under his nose. With the stone now in her possession, Akemi surely knew Isamu and his men would soon come after her, looking to take it back. But she didn't care or worry about that, at least for the moment.

Back at the fortress, Isamu dispatched his soldiers out in small groups into the forest. They rounded up weapons such as swords, knifes, spears, and bow and arrows before setting out to murder the fleeing young, treacherous female. Isamu came along on the hunt as well to see to it that Akemi would experience a gruesome death first hand. Nobody had ever stolen anything from him before and gotten away with it, and he wasn't willing to let it happen with his daughter. Stealing from Isamu was considered the ultimate death penalty. The executions he had placed on those that stole from him were brutal, ranging from having certain ligaments of the body amputated before a bloody beheading to a horrible fiery incineration. He was very serious when it came to something precious being stolen from him. Whatever the action Isamu would use to punish Akemi with was he was going to make certain that it'll be extremely painful.

An escaping Kasumi, Ayane, and Hayate came outside into the courtyard, which was marked by little to no motion or activity. They could see Isamu and his men heading deep into the forest while riding horseback. Some soldiers stayed behind to keep watch over the fortress and guard the place until their master returned. Kenji, the strongest soldier and Isamu's second in command, was left in charge.

"Isamu's got the stone with him, I'm sure of it," Kasumi knowingly whispered.

"Then I suggest we pursue him into the forest and take back the property he stole from us before he uses it on himself," Ayane scowled.

Hayate's eyes fluttered from Ayane's response. He knew right away that Isamu had already used the stone to restore his youth.

"I'm sure he's already used the stone by now to make himself young."

The two sisters turned to him in disappointed shock.

"Huh? How do you know that?"

"When he captured us he said by dawn he would have used the stone's power to transform himself, while giving us the privilege of watching it happen. It seems he held back on his promise since we were caged when it happened. I could already sense the stone's power being used when were breaking out."

"Great, so now he's younger and stronger than before. What do we do now then?" Ayane irritably groaned.

"We have no choice but to follow him for now."

"Well, let's get a move on!" Kasumi commanded. What are we waiting for?"

The three Ninjas snuck past the unwarily wandering guards in the courtyard, heading into the forest after Isamu and his men in hopes of taking back what he had stolen from them. But unknown to the persistent three was the fact that the Rejuvenation Stone was no longer with Isamu.

Akemi soon became tired and was in desperate need of rest. The constant running seemed to have drained her stamina down quite a bit. Breathing heavily, she climbed up to one of the nearest trees, figuring no one would see her if they came walking by. Once she reached the highest branch, the young Ninja laid her back up against the thick bark and drifted to sleep with the stone laying securely between her closed legs. At that moment, she began to slip into a dreaming state. An image of Kasumi froze in her mind. She remembered the love and care she had received from the thoughtful and polite girl the other day. The sound of playful laughter and water splashing from the soothing river were present in Akemi's ears as she slept. Together they had a lot of fun. But it came to a sad end rather quickly.

No longer were they friends or pretend sisters. They were now each other's enemy. Akemi felt that the only friend she had now was the Stone of Rejuvenation itself. She felt there was no need for friends as long as she had that. Although Akemi no longer liked Kasumi, she still somewhat missed the short time they had shared together as friends, the time when the two laughed as they ate fish by the bonfire and shared secrets with one another during the night before going to sleep. Those memories didn't seem to want to go away.

Kasumi and the others decided to rest for a while after hours of walking and running. They found no trace or sign of Isamu or his men, or Akemi for that matter. The forest remained peacefully quiet. No noises of galloping horses were heard moving throughout the area. To Kasumi, rest wasn't needed with the current situation. She highly claimed wanting to continue pursuing Isamu, but the actual reason behind it was going after the one girl she once considered her friend, Akemi. Hayate could see the determined look within his sister's penetrating eyes that told him she had other things on her mind besides just recovering the stone. Something was troubling her and he could easily tell. The male Ninja could always identify whether or not something was wrong with Kasumi.

Several times she tried to cover it up and hide it so he wouldn't notice, thinking it would make her seem childish. But no matter what she did, Hayate knew anyway.

"Something troubles you, sister?"

Kasumi sniffed with her head turned towards the other direction to try to hide her expression from him.

"I know something's wrong, Kasumi. You don't need to hide it from me."

"I was just thinking about Akemi, that's all," she said pouting.

"Akemi? Who is this Akemi?"

"Somebody who I thought was my friend. Somebody I thought I could trust. I've always wanted a sister who could be kind and respect me, a sister to share things with."

"I have a feeling a long story is involved. Why don't you tell me about it?" Hayate said, sitting down on the log next to her.

Kasumi went into extreme detail about everything that happened. And once she was finished, Hayate fully understood everything. Now he knew why his sister's eyes were looking so sinister from earlier on.

"I understand how you feel. But you shouldn't let this bother you so much. Akemi will get what's coming to her sooner or later."

"Your darn right she'll get what's coming to her," Kasumi growled in anger with images of Akemi running through her head.

"Sounds like this Akemi's really got you upset. I'm starting to like this girl already and I haven't even met her," Ayane teasingly chuckled.

Anybody that made Kasumi angry or depressed was already likeable to Ayane since she felt she could relate to that particular person.

"Now is not the time to be cracking jokes at your sister," Hayate said, bringing Kasumi's face into his chest.

Watching Kasumi gather all of Hayate's care and attention disgusted the purple haired Ninja to the extent of balling up her fist in severe anger. After all, it wasn't the first time she had witnessed this and wanted so badly to do something about it.

"Look at her, always getting him to hold and comfort her like some little child. I wish Hayate would do that with me," Ayane thought, while eyeing the hugging two with a sinister stare.


End file.
